1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a synthetic panel. More specifically, this invention provides a polymeric foamed panel (e.g. a low density synthetic panel) and method for producing the polymeric foamed panel. This invention further provides a method for forming a structure with two or more polymeric foamed panels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A patentability investigation was conducted and the following U.S. Patents were discovered:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,349 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,447 to Dickens et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,466 to Larson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,794 to Grieb; U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,193 to Altizer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,244 to Clapp; U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,660 to Raymond; U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,003 to McCarthy; U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,108 to Bergqvist; U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,809 to Harrington; U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,389 to Mazzone et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,109 to Gulur; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,089 to Gulur.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,349 to Smith teaches an insulated building panel having a core and overlapping skins which include an interior skin and an exterior skin. The interior skin at the panel's bottom covers a panel foot plate and the exterior skin at the panel's bottom also covers the panel foot plate and extends beyond to form an erection stop. End panels have relieved core areas for receiving bearing members associated with a wall splice bearing post, and double parallel spaced header beams have an offset splice area within a several panel wall section.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,447 to Dickens et al. teaches a method of forming a panel structure useful in building construction and the like including the steps of heating a heat expandable plastic in a separable mold having a cavity with the configuration of the resultant panel to form a panel core and adhering thin reinforcing strips to the front and back surfaces of the core. Control over the dimensions and configuration of the panel to Dickens et al. is obtained by adhering the strips to the core in the mold while applying heat thereto whereby core shrinkage is minimized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,466 to Larson teaches a method and apparatus for making building panels, including a means for positioning upper and lower rigid sheets of material, such as paper pulp, in spaced relation so that foamable material disposed between the sheets can move into gripping engagement with both sheets as it expands and solidifies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,794 to Grieb teaches a foam-cement building having the walls, roof and/or floor formed from a plurality of self supporting foam building blocks of varying density with a strong thin continuous structural and architectural coating on the surface of the blocks. The coating is formed from cement, reinforced with a fiberglass mesh and fiberglass roving strands. The blocks are interconnected by a mechanical key system or splines to form a monolithic structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,193 to Altizer teaches an improved modular building comprising sidewall modules and ceiling modules. The sidewall modules comprise a primary frame to which a secondary frame of furring strips is attached. The sidewall modules further comprise foam insulation molded around the primary and secondary frame to define exterior and interior planar surfaces. The ceiling modules include frame means supporting a plurality of ceiling joists, and foam insulation dispersed within the frame means and between the ceiling joist so as to define upper and lower ceiling surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,244 to Clapp teaches tilt-wall concrete panels adapted for constructing small buildings with "finished" interiors, especially single-family residences, etc. A peripheral frame of wooden members is laid on top of a barrier film of plastic (e.g. 4 mil polyethylene) on a horizontal surface. Wood-like studs are then placed within the frame and nailed thereto. Any desired utility cables and service pipes are positioned within the frame. Clapp further teaches that an insulating foam cover, preferably high-density polyurethane, is then generated within and over the frame, to a depth that at least covers the wood-like studs and any utility or service lines. Foam having a thickness of about 1.5 inches covers these elements and bonds them securely together as a stable, easily movable "plate" after the foam plastic has hardened. A plurality of such plates, each sized to form a part of a building's wall, are positioned at a construction site where a foundation has been prepared. Clapp discloses that a concrete form is then temporarily completed around each plate, and concrete is poured on top thereof, to an average depth of about 4 to 6 inches. After the concrete hardens, the temporary form is removed and the composite panel is tilted to a vertical position. A plurality of such panels by Clapp are positioned edge-to-edge and joined to form a continuous outer wall for the building. The plastic barrier film is removed from the face of each panel, and interior wallboards or the like may be nailed to the exposed wood-like studs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,660 to Raymond teaches an integral energy efficient load-bearing exterior wall fabricated of lightweight foam surrounding plastic load-bearing columns. Raymond discloses prefabricated modular wall panels as individual building elements and as part of an integrated building system. The prefabricated modular wall panels are made from a foamed material that is molded around a plurality of vertically disposed hollow support columns. Each of the columns in U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,660 to Raymond is taught as containing a pair of opposed and vertically disposed T-shaped fastening supports which are arranged to form part of the interior and exterior surfaces of the foamed wall. The hollow columns are set onto locking base plates which are mounted on a wood or concrete deck system. Locking top plates are also mounted on wood and are then placed on top of the columns. The tubular columns are made of a plastic material and are shaped in cross-section in the form of a rectangle, square, diamond, oval or circle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,003 to McCarthy teaches a wall panel constructed from expanded polystyrene beads in an expanded polystyrene mold with structural members embedded in it during the molding process. The structural members are in the form of two by four studs placed at sixteen inch centers. Adjacent panels have interlocking grooves and ridges which fit together. McCarthy teaches that an advantage of his invention is that a total insulated wall is created with no cracks or spaces in the insulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,108 to Bergqvist teaches an apparatus for manufacture of laminated panels having a foamed plastic core material including an inclined press having a fixed platen surface and a movable platen surface hinged adjacent to its lower edge. Panel thickness is adjustable by a mechanism which moves the hinge pivot relative to fixed platen surfaces. The platen surfaces in U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,108 to Bergqvist are clamped at their upper edges by spaced clamps operable by lever and crank assemblies. A retractable seal spacer has liquid plastic injection nozzles and gas venting tubes in fluid communication with a hollow cavity in the press.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,809 to Harrington teaches a panel for providing walls, roofs and floors with thermal insulation and fire retardance. The panel is taught to comprise at least two essentially parallel face members separated to form a space between the face members and urethane within the space to provide the thermal insulation and fire retardance. The panel may additionally include frame members extending between the face members for providing support and for enclosing the urethane. At least one of the frame members has at least one port through which urethane foam can enter between the face members. U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,809 to Harrington further teaches a method for creating a panel for providing insulated and fire retardant walls, floors and roofs. The method is taught by Harrington to include the steps of joining frame members together to form a panel frame of the desired dimensions, attaching face members to either side of the panel frame so that at least one enclosed space is formed within the face members and frame members, creating at least one port leading into the at least one enclosed space, and injecting urethane foam through the at least one port into the at least one enclosed space.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,389 to Mazzone et al. teaches a composite building panel including a core of a foamed polymeric insulating material, such as expanded polystyrene, having a plurality of uniformly spaced open box tubes retained in vertical grooves formed in the rear surface of the core by a two-part epoxy adhesive. The tubes are mechanically connected at their ends to one leg of continuous horizontal channels having their other leg adhesively secured to the core at horizontal slots. The front surface of the core is continuous without seams and may be coated with a variety of exterior insulation finishing system coatings.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,269,109 and 5,279,089 to Gulur teach an insulated load bearing wall comprising panels of extruded polymer foam into which tubular, load carrying frame members have been incorporated. A tongue is formed at one vertical edge of each panel and a groove is formed at the opposite vertical edge. The tubular frame members are bonded to the extruded polymer foam.
None of the foregoing U.S. Patents teach the particular methods of the present inventions for producing panels having a core of a foamed polymeric material, such as expanded polystyrene. StressSkin and Structural Panels have been in use for several decades. Alden Dow constructed his first StressSkin panel house in the late forties. Both technologies have relied on an inner and outer skin of wood either being plywood or more recently OSB (oriented strand board). The plywood or OSB skin is attached to the foam core with an adhesive and then pressed together. The laminated panels are thereafter processed into engineered parts. The plywood or OSB skin does not provide for both a structure and a substrate for the interior and exterior finishes. Thus, what is needed and what has been invented by us is a foamed wall system and method that provides for a foamed polymeric material that becomes both a structure and a substrate for the interior and exterior finishes.